Music Review: Brennen Leigh’s throwback album applies clever twists to classic country

“Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet” by Brennen Leigh (Signature Sounds)

As the album title would suggest, Brennen Leigh sings about cheating, drinking and trucking, while referencing Red Sovine, jukeboxes and her dog.

Leigh may not be reinventing the wheel on “Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet,” but her throwback album makes for a fun ride.

Leigh is fully committed to the Nashville sounds of more than a half-century ago, which helped her recruit a stellar supporting cast of hot-picking traditionalists led by producer Chris Scruggs. Marty Stuart’s mandolin provides the album’s first solo, and Rodney Crowell croons background vocals.

The titles of some tunes give away the plot: “The Bar Should Say Thanks,” “Somebody’s Drinking About You” and “Running Out of Hope, Arkansas.” But Leigh is a smart songwriter who applies clever twists to her genre’s conventions, while keeping it country with an alto as bracing as the winter wind in her native North Dakota.

The title cut makes a convincing case for cold beer, and “Mississippi Rendezvous” depicts a third-rate romance with hilariously solemn backing vocals in support of Leigh’s octave leaps. “Every Time I Do” channels Patsy Cline and leaves just enough to the imagination, while “You Turned Into a Dragon” is a witty take on art imitating life that rhymes “my very eyes” with “metamorphosize.”

It will all sound great on a jukebox.

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